Pivoted bucket conveyer



Oct. 6, 192 1,55 ,343

W. E. PHILIPS PIVOTED BUCKET CONVEYER Filed Aug. 29, 1921 2 Sheets-Sheetl W. E. PHILIPS PIVOTED BUCKET CONVEYER Filed Aug. 29, 1921 2Sheets-Sheet 2 'i m Z4 1. 20

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Patented Dot. 6, 1925.

UNITED "STATES; PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM; E. PHILIPS, or .cLnvE Lann, onro, ASSIGNOR fro THE srnazansCONVEYOR COMPANY, F cLEvn aNn, 01110, A CORPORATION or onro- PIVO'TEDBUCKET CONVEYER.

Application and au stae, i921. Serial no. 496,318.

" To all whom it mag concern: .1

' Beit known that 1, WILLIAM E. Prrulirs,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county ofCuyahogaand State of-Ohio, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in Pivoted Bucket Conveyers, of which the following isafull,

clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings. i

improvements in link vconveyers wherein dumping buckets are employed.

The'general object of the invention is the provision of a chain conveyerhaving simpleprovide a reinforcement member associated with extensionson the links; the axles of the buckets'being supported on theextensions.

' out-of alignment with the link'joints An additional'object of .theinvention is to providesimple'nreansin aplvoted bucket conveyer adaptedto cause a distribution of thefor'ces due to the weight of the loadandwidth of the link bar, and an inner linki the bucket.

the following description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings wherein Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a conveyer chain andbuckets, showing the position of the parts when passing over a sprocketwheel; Fig. 2 is [a plan of a'conveyer embodying the features of myinvenf tion; Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional eleva tion of a supportingroll and its associated link; Fig. 4 is a in plan, through the link. anda supporting roll."

, In constructing i bucket conveyers has been the generalpra'ctice'topivotally mount l thei bucketon an I considerable distancefrom thesldes of the This invention relates to conveyersofthe .1 typeadapted to transport coal or other ma terials and is particularlyconcernedfwlth my invention is con- Further objectswillbeco'me apparentin cross-sectional view partly,

axle which, projected a bucket and which also served as a pivot pin forconnecting the innerand outer conveyer links. "In using thisc0nstruc'tion, however, special arrangement had to'be made, where thepath of the conveyer was changed by passing .ov'er sprockets to obtain 1proper clearance between the buckets and the sprockets.

In other: constructions suitable clearance wasobtained by employingapivot shaft similar to a crank shaft wherein the bucket was-mounted onan offset portionof the shaft This necessitated special mountings or;

special bearings" on the bucket; This ar rangement also causeda greaterportion of the load to be carried by the inner links of the conveyerchain thus in time causing a buckling of the'links as the various partswore away. t

To overcome the objections noted I have provideda simple reinforcingmeans for a conveyer chain by which it is possiblefto ob tain particularadvantages over those types of conve'yers wherein the bucket is mountedon 'the 'link pin and also to retain the advantages of-the constructionswhereinthe bucket axis is offset'from. the link 1' ointi" In Fig. 2 Ihave illustrated, a" conveyer of the'bucket type wherein I havearranged'double link roller'cha ins on each side of the buckets "These chains arecomposed of outer ;link plates lQ'having atone endan offset portionextending a distance equal to late 11 having an offset portion of,the'same length: The ends of the bars opposite the ofiset ends aremounted onasleeve member 12 having a length equal to the width ofthe'chain intermediate of'the link joints, while the offset ends ,of thelinks are mounted on a stud member 14- which is carried by' the sleeve12. Suitable rollers 16 having projecting hubs 17 serve to maintainthevlinks in properly spaced relation.

The stud member 1 1 i may have an upset end 15 adaptedto limititstransverse movethe pivot point upon which I prefer to rigidly mount areinforcing member 18. The member 18 may be secured to the inner link byany convenient means, as for instance, suitable rivets 19 and 20.

The particular function of this reinforcing member is to distribute theload exerted upon the extension 13 of the link to the stud 14 and to theouter links 10 and also to provide a suitable bearing for demountablebucket supporting means. The reinforcing member may therefore be ofsuflicient length to extend past the pivotal axis of the links so thatthe stud member 14 may be secured thereto. I thus obtain a load bearingcontact on the inner end of the stud equal to the combined Width of theinner link 11 and the reinforcing member; the stud being rigid withthesemembers.

To prevent any turning of the stud I have provided a slotted projection22 on the reinforcing member in which the retaining pm 21 may bepositioned. A very advantageous feature of my invention is that thebuckets 27 may be quickly and readily removed from the bucket supports.

To simplify the manufacturing of the bucket support I have arranged thebody portion of the reinforcing member 18 in the form of a U-shaped rib25 surrounding an open recess 24, on the outer face of a plate portionwith which the rib is integral. This recess extends a considerablelength along the extended portion of the inner link bar. The rib 25 maytaper inwardly and merge in the stud engaging end of the reinforcingmember.

The end of bucket shaft or support 26 I may be mounted in this slot; theslot termlnating in a ribbed semi-circular opening which serves as abearing for the end of the shaft. To rigidly maintain the shaft end in alocked position I have provided a straight pin 29 which may pass throughthe ribs of the reinforcing member and engage the end of the shaft alongthe surfaces of a groove formed therein, thus maintaining the bucketshaft in rigid relation with the reinforcing member and preventing anytransverse shifting thereof.

It is quite evident that any individual bucket may be removed from theconveyer or remounted thereon by the removal or insertion of pins 29,which enables the removal of the shaft 26 from its bearing 28 on thebucket, it not being necessary to disconnect any other parts of theconveyer. It will also be noted that the stud 14:, the link 11, thereinforcing member 18 and the bucket shaft 26 are all rigidly assembled.

The greatest deterioration in chain con veyers is caused by the rapidwearing away of. the links, pivots and parts associated therewith due tothe grinding action of grit and dust and expensive bearing constructionshave been provided to overcome this destructive wear.

By providing efficient lubricating means I have found that the dirt anddust may be forced out of the link connections and that the wear isthereby greatly reduced. To lubricate the various parts I have mounted asuitable coupling nipple 30 on the outer end ofthe stud 14: which isassociated with a passageway 31 formed in the stud. A radial passageway32 formed in the stud 14 and sleeve 12 provides communication to alubrication chamber 33 formed in the roller 16, whence a high pressuregun connected to the nipple 30 may force the grease or other lubricantinto the chamber 30 and along the bearing surfaces of the sleeve 12 androller 16. As the sleeve extends to the outer link bars, the lubricantmay also be forced between the sleeve and stud and between thecontacting surfaces of the links 11. Lubricant may likewise be forcedoutwardly to the contacting surfaces of the projecting roller hubs 17and the inner surfaces of the link bars 10 and 11.

From the foregoing description of my invention it is quite apparent thatany one or a number of the buckets may be quickly removed from theconveyer or be remounted thereon, While by the same arrangement I haveretained the advantages of a solid offset bucket shaft. In other words Ihave obtained a proper clearance between the sprockets and buckets andat the same time I have distributed the forces, exerted on the conveyerby the load, equally to all of the chain links. In obtaining thesevarious desirable features I have decreased the cost of the constructionas the manufacture of the constituent parts involves only the simplestproduction operations. The reinforcing member as well as the roller maybe rough castings made with just suflicient accuracy to obtain ease inassembling. Furthermore, by incorporating lubricating means in theroller I not only insure theproper lubrication of the various contactingparts but also provide a very effective method for cleaning the pivotalconnections between the chain links and the rollers.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. In a conveyer of theclass described, the combination of a pair of inner links, a sleevemounted therein, a pair of outer links overlapping the inner links andoverlapping the ends of the sleeve, a pivot pin extending through thesleeve and through the outer links, an ofiset bucket supporting bracketsecured to an extension of one of the outer links, said bracket having alongitudinally extending slot formed therein adaptabl for the receptionof an axle of a pivotally supported conveyer bucket and a pin spanningthe slot, said pin being the combination of inner and outer linksarranged in pairs, a bracket member secured to one of the outer linksthe bracket having an elongated slot formed therein and the bracket eingofi'set relative to said link, whereby one end of the slot may be 10opened while a Wall at the other end may comprise a bearing for a pivotbucket axle, and means spanning the slot adapted to maintain such anaxle in engagement with the end wall of the slot.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aflix my signature.

WILLIAM E. PHILIPS.

